I'm planning on ordering one today. Is there anyone who is not happy with theirs? Why?

I was going to go through JC Whitney, they have them for $135. Anyone know of a better price?

And one more question. My truck is a 2001 Supercab Flareside 4x2. I assume I need the sway bar with the 2" rear drop shackle, is this correct?

 

Put mine on two nights ago. The results are nothing short of spectacular.

 

I got mine from JC Whitney for $129 about 2 years ago. No you do not need any lower shackels to go with the sway bar unless you want to.

Keep in mind that if you decide to lower your truck you will need to get shorter end links so the sway bar will work properly.

 

The bar works well. It takes some tweeking to get right and the instructions are useless. What shocked me was the result from the FRONT bar; huge improvement.

 

The fact that I have the 2" drop shackles has been the only thing holding me back from buying an anti sway bar. For those that have them, is there anything "special" about their end link hardware?? If not, I could just get to a Pep Boys and buy some of the universal polyurethane end links after the fact. Or I could cut the center piece and install shorter bolts. Do they have a unique sized bolt or bushing type that would keep me from doing this simple "fix"???,,,,,98

 

Hellwig makes a kit for lowered vehicles. To compensate, the end-link bolt and spacer is 1" shorter. I have the standard bar; I just cut the spacer down and bought bolts at the hardware store.

 

Well, JC Whitney and most other places I've asked don't have a clue about the sway bars for lowered trucks. JC Whitney doesn't show a lowered bar, that I know of. I was thinking of doing just what you said, so I could order it from anywhere. I did NOT know that I would only have to cut one inch off of the spacer, I was going to use standard logic and cut it two inches like the shackles. THANKS for that info!!,,,,,98

 

I just came from the JCW site...Try this..

http://www.jcwhitney.com/product.jht...=162784&BQ=jcw

 

Within the last year, all of the sport truck specialty catalogs that J.C.W. has sent me have including the new bar that ChiDiver mentioned. The bar is the same; the end-links are different. Basically, you just make the end-links the length necessary to make the side arms of the bar horizontal. Another member with a Harley truck and 2"drop measured his and they ended up being the same as my standard ones after I chopped them 1". I have 2"drop shackles as well.

 

They must have stopped updating their main catalog then. I'm looking at the April 02 issue of their newstand catalog, not a single mention of the lowered truck sway bars. That is confusing, to say the least!! I prefer to order things the old fashioned way most of the time(sans internet), because it's impossible to get across to them that I move to different city every four weeks. I can't wait around for them to ship at their discretion, lol! Thanks for the link, I'll give them a call!,,,,,98

 

So if the sway bar comes with a 2 inch drop shackle, will I use it for a standard height (no lift, no drop) truck? Or will I actually have to cut the shackle thing and get different bolts?

 

The 2" drop shackles and the sway bar ends are two completely different pieces. If you have drop shackles on the truck already, you should order a sway bar with the lowered links. Or you can cut them down 1" to match the shackles. The sway bar end links should be of the lowered type, if the shackles and bar are to be done at the same time. The bar comes for both stock height, and lowered. Also lowering shocks might be a good idea. I haven't replaced mine yet, but I probably should.,,,,,98

 

Okay lets settle this once and for all.

You do not need shorter end links for only a 2 inch drop only when you go lower will you need the short end links AND if you call Hellwig they will ship shorter end links to you for free...at least that is what they did for me.

I had 2 inch drop before the bar and when I installed the bar I had no problems what so ever. I was worried as well but I called Hellwig and they explined it to me that was that.

 

Then why are there three different part numbers for 2", 4", and 6" rear drop? Sounds a little fishy to me. I'm not trying to start a flame war, I just want to get it right the first time. 2" in the front and rear is probably all I'm going with, daily driven 20's in my future,,,,98

 

I finally got it! Put the Sway bar on last weekend. And throughout the week I've really noticed a difference in the way the truck handles. It is much flatter in the turns. JC Whitney, part number 07ZX0318R.

I must say though that I am upset about a few things though.

1. The bar looked like hell. I don't know if everyone elses looked like this but it was not what I considered "retail" quality. There were bad spots all over in the paint/coating. It looked as if the bar was used. If this was a show truck the bar would have to be sanded down and repainted. The only sway bars that I have seen before were the front ones that go under the hood. They are almost always nice and shiny. The bar I received couldn't be touched without getting grease and dirt everywhere. Maybe I expected to much.

2. The fiber/lock nuts that were suppose to fit on the bolts that attach the bar to the frame were the wrong ones. The bolts are 7/16 fine thread, the nuts were coarse thread. I didn't find out they were wrong until after the first set of threads were stripped. Luckily I had not stripped the "J" bolts as they are 1 of a kind. I had to go to Home Depot and Lowes hardware to replace the bolts/nuts/washers. The original washers may have worked, but I wasn't taking any chances at this point.
Now that I think about it, the nuts for the "U" bolts that go around the axle were course thread. I think Hellwig just grabbed the wrong ones when they packed the kit.

NOTE: I checked all the nuts in the kit, none of them were correct. Not even the fiber nuts.

Now that the bar is in I don't think much about it. Works fine and like it was advertised. But I think I'll still send Hellwig and JC Whitney a letter.

Hint: Go to the store and pick up a JC Whitney catalog for $3. There is a 10% & 15% coupon in it (orders less than $150=10%, more than $150=15%). The sway bays are only $125 in the catalog. $125 - 10%=$112!